


Every Time We Meet

by VelvetSky



Series: Complications [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, pre-Bucky Barnes/Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-10-31 15:28:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10902168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetSky/pseuds/VelvetSky
Summary: A series of encounters in the Tower between Steve and Darcy following their meeting in the gym. Mostly in the lounge.





	1. The Pop-tart Incident

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series.
> 
> No Beta. Only reread by me a few times. No doubt mistakes remain. 
> 
> Also, at some point down the line of this series, Bucky will be involved in a Steve/Darcy/Bucky way. In case some people are not interested in that, they can steer away now.

Steve was correct in anticipating his reliability to train being somewhat lacking. He seemed to be away or simply too busy to spend an hour working with Darcy. They managed a few times though, and she enjoyed it each time, and it seemed like maybe he did too. And then several weeks passed where she heard nothing at all from him, and only faint buzzes around the building that he was off on some mission, though only he and the Falcon seemed to actually be out on said mission. The rest of the Avengers were going about business as usual, or so it seemed. Thor at least said he didn't know what mission it was, just that Steve was in fact away from the building, and Darcy had no reason to think Thor wasn't being truthful. But the notion that Thor knew as much as she did regarding other Avengers somehow seemed odd. But she supposed she didn't really know how the whole Avengers thing really worked.

It was a Tuesday afternoon when she wandered into the lounge for a snack and there was Steve, sitting and eating like it was just another day. Like he did this all the time. Maybe he did when he was here, but it seemed like he'd been gone for weeks.

"Well, fancy meeting you here. Radio silence for like three weeks. Must have been quite a mission." Darcy smirked, she was teasing, she knew he was busy. It didn't mean she wasn't curious about it though, given how little anybody else seemed to know about where he was or what he'd been doing.

Steve looked up, "yeah, sorry. Had to follow the leads. Can't really say anything more."

"I know. Super secret Avengers stuff. All classified. Sometimes I wonder what isn't classified around you." Darcy laughed a little.

"That's classified too," Steve smirked a little before biting into his food.

"What are you eating?" She smiled lightly and leaned across the counter to see what he had.

"Sandwich." Steve kind of showed her the view of the sandwich where it was bitten into. It always gave the best view of what was inside the sandwich. It appeared to be meat and some vegetables on some whole grain bread.

"How healthy of you." Darcy toasted a pop-tart, she just needed a quick snack before heading back to work.

"I try, especially after a workout." Steve had spent the last hour in the gym, where it was nice and quiet.

"You don't really even need to work out, do you? It's just for fun?" Darcy had heard, but didn't really know anything for sure.

"I suppose. Which I should have some time this week, if you're free and want to take a swing at the punching bags again. And on a related note how's Tony been treating you lately?" Steve had set his sandwich down and was watching her.

Darcy smiled, pulling her pop-tart from the toaster and letting it cool a moment on a paper towel. "Tony has been a little better, but Pepper was just through the other day, which usually keeps him in a better mood for a day or two after. I'm sure I could use some more punching bag soon. I've been in there kind of regularly, so some more pointers would be great."

"How's tomorrow around seven in the evening?" Steve figured he would fairly safely be free at that time, unless something really suddenly came up.

"Sounds good." Darcy grinned between bites of her pop-tart, she moved closer to peer again at his sandwich.

"It's pretty good, doesn't take that long to make. Probably more satisfying than that." Steve pointed at her pop-tart.

Darcy stuck her tongue out at him, "it might not be nutritious, but it's very satisfying to my taste buds. It's sweet and junkie, and that's what I need to get through four more hours of science with Jane."

"Fair enough. Just saying, it might actually give you more energy for getting through that four hours of science with Jane." Steve shrugged, he didn't want to push or nag, just offer helpful advice. He could appreciate eating something simply because it was tasty, but if she really did want more energy for getting through her day, there were better options, that didn't taste bad.

"I know," Darcy might have been vaguely pouting, it was the kind of thing her mother would have said.

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to make you feel bad for wanting what you want. That's not my intent. I just, I don't know, over helping I guess, where people didn't really ask for help." Steve shook his head at himself.

"It's okay. I know there's better things I could eat as a snack, and sometimes I do eat better things. I cook my dinners most of the time, rather than have takeout or frozen meals like some people do. Just sometimes, I need a pop-tart, or something like that." She did feel like she had to justify it, and that it wasn't what she always did. That she wasn't always lazy and junkie and maybe gross, to him. 

"I know. I'm sure." Steve felt bad, he didn't mean it in a bad way. He just didn't know sometimes how to say things like that, especially to women, especially beautiful women.

"I should get back." Darcy nodded, and he sighed a little, when she took the rest of her pop-tart and seemed to hurry away with a tiny wave.


	2. Ease the Tension

They had a few more heavy bag lessons. Steve hoped he'd made up for his comments on her choice of snack. She'd seemed to relax a little as they fell into a rhythm, having sessions in the gym twice a week for three weeks before he was gone a week on some Avengers business. Missions, they were sometimes big, sometimes small, but always took at least a little bit of time. Steve always seemed to return feeling a little worn for a couple days, even if it didn't show, he felt it, internally.

When everyone was around he sucked it up, put on the Captain America game face and did his best to seem in control and unaffected. They all did that. Sure after an especially grueling one, they all came back a little tired and frayed. But once it was wrapped, and they all got some sleep, it was usually brush off, move on time. Sometimes in the morning, he still didn't want to brush it off, it was still rattling in his head, and even with the super everything, he could feel it in his body too. The tension that clutched his muscles at times while his mind kept spinning things over.

The last mission had been fast, a few days, but it was dirty. There were young kids involved, one even died. A kind of sweatshop situation with ties to Hydra and a few other nefarious organizations and people. It had rattled everyone, and he kept playing it over, how maybe if they'd moved faster, hit from a different angle, or planned better, or something, they could have saved that kid, and the half dozen other people who perished, among many others who were ill and injured because of the practices of the place they were forced to work, or because of the fight that ensued when the Avengers moved in to take them.

Steve sat in the lounge, he'd had a work out, a shower, it was still a bit early. He'd come in to eat, but had wound up sitting down on the couch and, well, he didn't really know how long he sat there. He just knew he'd have probably kept sitting there staring off at nothing a while longer, if not for the whisper in his ear, "how you doin', Soldier?"

There was a moment of surprise as Steve's focus came back to him. He turned to find he had a perfect view of Darcy's cleavage as she was leaning over the back of the couch. His gaze quickly shifted to her eyes, "what? Sorry."

Darcy laughed softly, "are you alright? You looked a little zoned out when I came in?"

"Oh, yeah," Steve shook his head a little and sighed, "mission. We got them, but not before there were casualties."

"I'm sorry. That's rough." Darcy felt like she could see the tension in his body. Her hand reached out and softly massaged Steve's shoulder, which was perhaps even more tense than it had appeared. Steve groaned long and deep, which prompted Darcy to continue rubbing, her other hand going to his other shoulder. She rubbed him a minute or so before pausing.

Steve turned as soon as she stopped, it felt good, and he missed the feeling immediately. "That was really nice."

"There's more." Darcy smiled, pulling off her shoes and climbing over the back of the couch. She was dressed in a loose skirt that came a couple inches above her knees, and a pale colored button down shirt with the top couple buttons open. Steve watched her every move, staring up at her as she stood over him, before sliding down to sit. Sort of wedging herself between him and the couch. He thought of scooting or shifting to give her more room, but she didn't ask him to, and it felt a little too nice to want to. Darcy curled one leg under herself, while the other curled at his side. Her hands went to his shoulders again and rubbed gently.

Steve thought of telling her she didn't have to do such a thing, that his body would probably feel better in the morning after some rest, but her soft, warm hands rubbing gently into his muscles felt too nice to stop. Her fingers would rub the back of his neck and he could feel her skin on his. Since he hadn't protested the massage, Darcy went for it. Yes, she liked him, and he'd been really sweet to her. Even that thing with the pop-tart, he wasn't rude at all, it was just her feeling self conscious about it. He'd apologized anyway the next time she saw him, a few times. She felt like doing something nice, he'd been spending free time giving her pointers in the gym, it seemed like the least she could do. Steve groaned a little, softly, relaxing under her touch.

“If there is anything you want to, and can talk about, I don’t mind listening.” The massaging almost paused a moment as Darcy leaned in close, her whole body pressing into Steve’s back, so she could speak softly near his ear.

Steve took a deep breath to keep a handle on himself, and try to clear his mind. Glancing at her a long moment before he tried to speak, “it was this kind of sweatshop thing. Producing things for a variety of less than savory sorts. There were kids as young as probably eight working there. When we got there, one had died, along with several older workers, not that any were all that old. But adults anyway.”

Darcy was listening, watching him carefully as she gently rubbed his shoulder blades. "That's terrible." There was so much tension in his body, she saw him nod solemnly and she paused the massage again to slowly, and gently slide her arms around him to hug him from behind. She hoped if he was okay with her massaging his back, he'd be okay with a hug too. He just looked like he could use one.

His body did seem to relax in the hug, Steve's hands covered hers, not wanting her to pull away yet. The only thing that bothered him about it was that he couldn't hug her back like this. It had been a while since anyone had really hugged him, had been this close when it wasn't something from a mission or something like that. Darcy felt like his body relaxed, and his hands held onto hers, so she didn't move, just kept herself pressed into his back, and rested her head at the back of his neck, her chin just over one shoulder. Steve turned his head slightly, though he couldn't see her, but he felt her, almost melding into him, he wasn't sure he'd ever felt anything better in his life.

They sat like that for a little while before either said or did anything. Steve finally broke the silence, but didn't move, "thank you. I'm not sure I even realized how much tension I was carrying around. Sometimes, the whole assembly of things I've seen just piles up. There is so much in my head, all the time."

Steve had kept his hands over hers, so Darcy didn't take his speaking as a sign she should pull away, and what he said, made her try to squeeze him a little tighter. "Do you guys, the Avengers, ever talk about it all after? Even just among yourselves? Just to sort it out and get it in the open?"

"No, we're not much for talkers, I guess. It's not my first instinct either. I just deal with it. But sometimes that's not easy." Steve had grown up in a time where people in general didn't really talk about problems or feelings, they just sucked it up and kept going, especially men. And having been a rather small and physically weak one until the serum, Steve had steeled his mind and soul.

Her hands pulled back, Steve let them go, but he really just wanted to keep feeling her holding him. "See, that's probably why you have all this tension in your muscles. Internalizing all that shit will knot even a super soldier up." Her hands moved back to softly rub at his back and shoulders, well, parts of them. She'd moved her hands, but Darcy's body was still leaned into him. It felt very nice, but Steve still really just wanted to be able to hug her, and have her hug him back.

"You might be right." Steve was twisting slightly, his hands lightly trying to hold onto her, getting her leg with one hand and her arm with the other.

Darcy felt the shifting, and felt like maybe a hug was what he was seeking, without seeming to be able to ask for it. She moved so she was sitting, almost facing him side on, and reached out to hug him. Steve's response was immediate, arms around her, pulling her close and as tight as he could without hurting her. Darcy smiled, and Steve felt it, her face in his shoulder. She hugged him right back, as tight as she could. Darcy didn't move, but spoke after a bit, "you feel a little less tense."

"I think it's helping a little." Steve was not letting go yet, not until she actually started to shift like she wanted to be let go. Until then, he was feeling like he needed this. It was helping, more than a little, he actually wasn't thinking a mile a minute, and he felt calm and comforted.

"Good. You know, I don't mind listening, whenever." The only movements she made were to softly rub her hands against his back.

"I'll try to remember that." They stayed a while longer before they heard people approaching down the hall and slowly pulled back. No one actually appeared, but Darcy noticed the time, and figured if she didn't get going, Jane would start wondering where she was.


	3. Clueless is a Classic

A couple weeks and a few more gym sessions passed. Darcy was hanging out in the lounge one evening, waiting for Jane to need her. Basically that would happen once it was dark. Jane had a telescope and was going to do some observing, and that was easiest at night, darker the better. The city was always kind of bright, but somewhere in the late hours, there was usable darkness. However, until then, Darcy had a long break to relax. Going all the way home only to come back was stupid, so she was entertaining herself in the lounge. There were endless movies to choose from, and plenty of snacks.

She'd put in an old 90s chick flick classic in the form of Clueless. It was just getting going when Steve wandered in. He smiled as soon as he spotted her unmistakable form on the couch. And when she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him, he smiled even more. "What are you watching?"

"It's called Clueless. Want to join me?" She set her big bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and paused the movie, turning more on the couch to look at Steve. Her hand softly patted the couch cushion next to her.

Steve chuckled, "yeah, that sounds good." He grabbed some water and sat down next to her. He had no idea what Clueless was, but he'd just watch and find out. It didn't much matter to him what she was watching. He only cared that she'd asked him to join her. Running into her was a little surprise that made Steve's day a little nicer. When he settled in, she offered him popcorn and hit play on the movie.

"It's a sort of silly, but fun movie. It's loosely based on Jane Austen's Emma. And set in Beverly Hills in the 90s." Darcy giggled, but she thought maybe it would help him figure out what he was watching.

Steve smiled, he figured he'd sort out the basic premise eventually, he was vaguely familiar with Jane Austen's writing in general, though not so much the specific story. "Silly is good sometimes." He reached for some popcorn and leaned back.

As they watched, Steve chuckled a little and asked a couple questions. Darcy laughed and answered, questions Steve asked, as well as some he didn't. They seemed to huddle close around the popcorn, and about halfway through the movie, Steve's arm wound up around her shoulders, and as a result, she'd cuddled in at his side a bit. Darcy looked up at him, "I hope you're at least kind of liking this movie. I know it's probably not really your taste."

"I don't really know what my taste is anymore. I loved going to movies when I was young, and they were different then. But that's the thing, all the movies now, or in the last forty years even, are different. I'm only getting started, it feels like, on trying to get caught up on all the things I missed. And if this is a movie, that is from over a decade ago, but still is in people's minds, then it had something. It is kind of funny, I'm enjoying it." Steve was smiling softly, a sincerity in his eyes. He kind of always looked honest, but he had this extra sincere look that Darcy had noticed a few times. Happened when he was talking about something that he really seemed to have an interest in.

"You've been really awesome giving me lessons in the gym, I could always help you wade through all those years of pop culture. If you want." She smiled, hoping he might want to take her up on the offer. It seemed like it might be fun, and maybe Darcy would see him even more than she did with just the gym and these occasional run ins.

"It might help to have a navigator for some of that. I've been keeping a list of the most important sounding things people tell me about that I missed. But I'm sure there's a lot of other things. And maybe you can help guide me through the list as well." Steve had been trying when he could to check things off, though like with everything else, he didn't always have a lot of time for it. But, if Darcy helped him sort through it, he could start crossing things off the list, and spend a little more time with her.

“I would be happy to be your guide. Maybe, if there is time, after our next work out, we can sit down and watch or listen to something from your list.” Darcy figured that might be fun, and a good time to get it in. Since he would already be hanging out with her. And it would be a way to relax after the workout. “How long is your list?”

Steve actually had it on him and pulled it out, his little notebook and simply passed it over to her. The list was growing, seemingly all the time. It was several pages as Darcy looked it over. A few items had been crossed off already, but many more remained. “What do you think? And thoughts on what I should do next?”

Darcy smiled, “there is a lot of great stuff on this list. All stuff you should definitely be seeing, tasting, hearing, or otherwise trying.”

He chuckled softly, "I missed out on a lot of stuff, I know."

"You did. But now you can have the unique experience of picking through all the things that people you know think are awesome things. And chances are it's all pretty good stuff, at least I'd say by looking at your list. So even if it's not all to your taste, hopefully you won't hate any of it, and it'll be a kind of experience in working out what you do and don't like about the modern world. Yeah, mankind has fucked up a lot since you went in the ice, but there's also been some really cool things. Hopefully it kind of balances out. And you see where you still fit into the world, or find your place. Of course a lot of people born in this time, don't always feel like they belong, or fit, or have a place. That's sometimes the challenge of just being human, regardless." Darcy shook her head and kind of laughed at herself. "That may have taken a bit of a tangent, sorry about that."

"I have been trying to work on that where I fit thing, I'm not always sure I do. Maybe catching up with the times will help. Or maybe it'll help me feel like I'm not so different anyway." Steve had never really fit in, even in his time, so perhaps that was just who he was. But maybe he'd find some more connections to the present in exploring what he missed. And in having someone to help him with that.

They settled back and finished the movie, Steve left his arm around her, and Darcy got cozy next to him again. When it was over, they were a little slow to move until Darcy's phone buzzed and it was Jane poking her to get upstairs, because she needed help. Darcy helped clean up the snacks, though Steve said he'd take care of it. She had been the one to start the mess, she had to help clean it. Before she ran off, Darcy tossed her arms around Steve in a hug, to which he held on tight for a long moment before she shifted and he let her go.


	4. All Work, Some Ice Cream

It had been a busy couple of weeks, not just for Steve, but for Darcy as well. Jane was tracking some major thing, Darcy wasn't entirely sure what it was. Something about energy fields and spacial anomalies. It all sounded like Star Trek to Darcy. However, it had meant between her helping Jane extra, plus, Pepper was out of town, again, so she was logging extra Tony-sitting hours, she hadn't seen Steve in nearly three weeks. The one time she went looking for him, it seemed he was out of the building, and had been for a few days. When he got back and got to checking in on her, she barely had enough hours in the day to sleep.

When she found him sitting in the lounge having a bowl of something, she couldn't tell what it was, Darcy smiled. "Hey there, stranger." She had a little break and wanted something yummy. She'd already had lunch, a few hours ago, she needed something else if she was to survive a couple more hours. Jane needed help in about an hour, and before she did that, she figured she should check on Tony once more, he was busy tinkering with something. Tony wasn't like Jane in that he forgot to eat, he snacked constantly almost. However he would skip sleep and most other things when he was on a roll and in the zone. Though his current project seemed to be irritating him also, which sometimes meant keeping him from breaking things when he got annoyed, and forcing him to walk away and get some air for at least ten minutes.

Steve looked up, he'd been reading a tablet with his back to the direction Darcy came from. He smiled, "Hi, Darcy. Busy few weeks, aye?"

"Very. I'm wondering when I get a day off, or even more than just six hours away to sleep." She laughed, but it wasn't actually too far from the truth of how the last few weeks had been. While she spoke she gathered a bowl and spoon and served herself some ice cream. "And no judgment this time on my snack choices."

Steve held his hands up, and sat straight. "No judgement."

"What is it you're eating?" Darcy peered across the counter at Steve's bowl.

"Granola, with yogurt and fruit. It's pretty good." Steve took another bite and smiled, setting his spoon down while she put away the ice cream container and sat down next to him with her bowl of ice cream.

"Looks like it could be good, but probably not as good as chocolate ice cream." She spooned some ice cream into her mouth with a smile, watching him the whole time.

Steve chuckled a little, it was kind of funny somehow. "Maybe not, but it's tasty for a post workout snack, which was what I was going for."

"Hm, let me try," Darcy glanced at him, in case he protested, then reached for his spoon and tasted his yogurt granola thing. She nodded, a little smile on her lips. "Okay, that is fairly tasty"

"Does that mean I can try your ice cream?" Steve was already reaching his hand for her spoon. Darcy pouted at him, a little extra push to her bottom lip, but a little sparkle in her eyes. He chuckled softly and took a bite of her ice cream. It was pretty delicious.

"A little yummier, right?" She raised an eyebrow until he nodded. They both seemed to grin at each other.

"A little," Steve was still chuckling softly, he just enjoyed her persistence. "How's Jane? And Tony?"

"I'd think you'd know how Tony is. Being Avengers and all. Don't you guys have like meetings or something?" Darcy actually had slowly come to the conclusion that the Avengers often wandered off to do their own thing, even if they were all living in the same place, and really only all got together if it was needed. It was something she'd wondered about before, but after a few months working fairly frequently with Tony, she'd noticed that while they dropped in on each other often enough and perhaps even kept the others appraised of their activities, they all very much had their own agendas when something was not big enough to warrant the whole team being involved. She’d heard Tony ask Natasha, how did that South America thing go? To which Natasha said, fine. And that seemed to be that. Maybe it was because they knew Darcy was possibly in ear shot, but maybe that was all they said to each other on the matter.

“Sometimes that's true. But not always. I haven’t seen Tony in a few days or so. But I’m guessing you probably have.” Steve smiled, he planned to drop by and talk to Tony soon, he had a few vaguely hypothetical things to discuss, and he liked to check in on everyone from time to time.

“Fair enough. Tony’s good. Jane is good. They keep me pretty busy. And when I do have a free moment, there is usually something that Erik or Bruce could use a hand with.” Darcy laughed a little, slowly eating her ice cream.

“Sounds like more than a little busy. Do you ever get time to yourself?” Steve was watching her far more than he was eating.

“I guess I am a pretty good genius-sitter. I do get time to myself sometimes, like when we hit the gym. That’s free time.” Darcy smiled, a little more focused on Steve than her ice cream.

"Sounds like you're the best genius-sitter. I hope you're getting a bonus or something for that. I can see why though. You're very observant and attentive, caring, but you take very little crap from anyone either. I'm betting Tony would just roll over more timid people. He'll challenge anyone and everyone he meets, so you have to be willing to go toe to toe with him." Steve had found that out right away, and it never really went away. They were friends, but Tony still liked to challenge everyone over everything. He was used to being the big man in the room that everyone just listened and nodded at. So, to really get at the heart of Tony, and get to know him, one had to be willing to challenge him, to dig in and get past the big ego and sarcastic comments. He had to smile also at the idea that spending time with him was something she counted as a way to spend her free time. "And I hope our gym sessions aren't your only free time."

"No, I manage to get a little time to read or listen to music as well." Granted sometimes those times were on the train to and from work some days. Darcy didn't really even have regular days off. Jane-minding was sometimes a twenty four seven job, so she was lucky sometimes to go home and sleep. There were those few odd days where that didn't even end up happening, where Darcy would end up crashing out on the couch in Erik's office for a little while, or a few times she slept on Jane's couch in her apartment at the tower. "What about you? You seem like you're just as bad about all work, no play as Tony or Jane. Maybe you need a minder."

Steve chuckled a little, not that she was wrong though. "I might be. Sam usually seems to try to keep me from doing nothing but working. But there's always a lot of work to be done. So I use what little free time I have to work out, sit and enjoy some food, like now." He hadn't had a bite in a little while though, there were a few bites of his granola and yogurt just sitting there, hanging out in the bowl with the spoon, while his attention was on Darcy.

"That's good, that you at least have a little down time, and that there is someone to make sure you take a breath from time to time. I'd hate to see you wear yourself out, or not have any fun." Her voice was light, but the look in her eyes was so soft and warm, Steve wanted to wrap himself in it.

"I'm okay, you've got more than enough people to be worrying about." He sort of chuckled a moment, but the thought of her possibly worrying at all about him sort of gripped his chest in a strange way.

She just stared at him for a long moment before smiling softly, her arm stretching around his back as she leaned in and brushed her lips softly against his cheek for the briefest of moments. "I've got plenty of worry for everyone. Besides, without you, I'd have to find someone else to help me pretend a punching bag is Stark's face." They both laughed, and Steve shifted to put his arm around her. He tried not to over think her, or how she made him feel, he was busy. He didn't think he had time to actually get involved with anyone, especially while he was on a constant search for Bucky, while still doing Avengers duties. But there were some moments where she was right there in front of him, and all the noise in his head kind of went quiet for the time she was near.

They helped each other finish their snacks, while sitting cozied up at the counter. It wasn't really that long, maybe twenty minutes or so, and once they were finished, Darcy noticed the time. She gave him a quick squeeze and another little kiss on the cheek before hurrying off.


	5. To the Sound of Music

After another workout with the heavy bags, they each showered off, and headed to the lounge. Darcy didn't have anywhere she really needed to be, so she had time to just relax after, and see if he wanted to check something off his catch up list. They had only managed to cross one thing off, thus far, in the few weeks since Steve showed her his list. They'd also only gotten one workout in, and it ended when Steve got a call from Sam and he had to run off to do some mission or something. He was gone for several days and it took another week before he seemed able to meet up with her in the gym. So, perhaps Darcy just missed him and now that she had him there, she wanted to make the evening last. Spend what time she could with him before he disappeared again for a while. This place sure kept Steve busy. Darcy thought it seemed like he was gone far more than Tony or Thor seemed to be. And Thor sometimes had Asgardian stuff to take care of. She wondered sometimes what it was Steve did that kept him busier than the rest of them.

Steve sometimes thought for a moment about telling Darcy where he was really headed off to half the time he left off on missions. The thing was, the others didn't ask a lot of questions, they all had side projects and priorities, things they involved themselves in, without need for the team. And generally, they all didn't pry into each others business, so Tony didn't ask him why he took off all the time, well, Steve suspected Tony did have an idea what was up, but left him to it until such time as Steve decided to involve him. Thor perhaps had caught onto bits as well, but he only said if Steve needed help with something, to let him know, otherwise, Thor left him to his thing. Nat knew all about it, and was actively involved in tracking leads on Bucky, and had let Clint in on enough that Clint could help her on some recon stuff, and keep a look out for them if he noticed any leads. And outside the actual Avengers, no one else really asked about what these missions were, or how they all were splitting their time. It wasn't he didn't trust that Darcy would keep it secret. It was that he didn't want people who didn't need to know, to know, and potentially have to, at some point, lie about what they knew. Maybe that wouldn't be an issue, but he felt like it could be. Which was why even Tony and Thor and Clint didn't know much or at least not everything. Sam and Nat were the two that were all in by default more or less.

Darcy didn't seem to ask too many questions. She'd ask sometimes, if he looked worn, if there was something he wanted to share, and he would to the extent he could, without a lot of details. Mostly, he got to feel a little more normal for a little while when he was with her, which Steve liked. It was a little break from the rest of his life. When she said they could see about crossing a movie off his list after the workout, Steve kind of jumped to spend a little while longer with his mind clearer. Away from the rest of his thoughts.

Steve picked a movie that Coulson had recommended, made not terribly far after Steve's time. It looked like it might be fun, and had a couple of big names in it, called On the Town. Well, Steve had learned Gene Kelly became a big name, he only saw one movie of Gene Kelly's before he wound up as Captain America and then on ice. But Steve recalled liking the movie, it had been Gene Kelly's first. And back in his day, Steve only knew Frank Sinatra as a singer, but apparently he'd become a hit in films after Steve hit the ice.

While he was choosing, Darcy popped some popcorn and gathered a few other snacks and some drinks, setting them out on the coffee table and sat herself down. Once Steve had gotten everything selected, he sat down too. She wasn't sure why he felt the need to stand directly in front of the television while making the selection with the remote, but it seemed to be how Steve did it, so Darcy just let him. Maybe she'd tease him about it if he did it again. For now, it was kind of cute.

Steve got comfortable, sitting right next to Darcy, he didn't really even attempt to leave some kind of polite space between them. He wasn't thinking about polite space, he was just thinking about how settled his mind felt when he sat close to her. Yes, maybe he tingled a little also, but he swore, even to himself, that was not the reason he liked getting close to her. It was just the calm thing.

He curled his arm around her back as she got comfortable, nestled in at his side. Darcy had her arm resting half in his lap, as she also lightly held the bowl of popcorn, her other hand free to use to eat the popcorn.

"What made you choose this one?" She was curious, since there were many movies on his list.

"Coulson recommended it, and it being made in the forties, it sounded like it could be nice. Set in New York, it might have a kind of odd familiarity. It might be why he recommended it." Steve wasn't completely sure. "He also said it was a favorite of his."

"I'm not even sure I've see this one. I've seen a lot of older movies, but there's a lot I've missed, so maybe I'll get to see some things I haven't through your list too." She smiled at him, brightness in her eyes. Steve got so caught in that look.

"That would actually be fun, I think." Steve somehow liked the idea that they might experience some of these movies together for the first time.

They mostly watched quietly, save for chuckles and such things. Occasionally they would glance at each other and smile. Once the popcorn was gone, Steve moved the bowl to the table, and was sort of pleased that Darcy seemed to leave her hand resting in his lap. He tried not to like it, but he did. His free hand even lightly resting against hers. Steve was kind of too warm and cuddly to resist for Darcy. As the movie progressed toward the end, they got more cuddled.

As the movie ended, Darcy looked up at Steve again, "that was fun. What did you think?"

"I liked it. It did have a kind of old familiar feeling. It looked and felt not too different from the movies and times I recall. Almost a feeling of nostalgia, even though I'd never seen it." He was smiling a touch, but also thinking. It had turned his mind a little toward Bucky, and all those things they'd both lost.

Perhaps she saw a tiny bit of that sadness or loss in his eyes, because the next thing Steve knew, Darcy shifted and wrapped her arms around his body and squeezed him softly. That made him smile a little more, and he softly squeezed her back. They were quiet for a few minutes, before Darcy spoke up, "you want to watch another movie, or are you wanting to call it an evening?"

It wasn't all that late, Steve thought. Their workout had been in the late afternoon. So he figured it wasn't any later than eight or so. "Let's do another. Maybe since we're on a musical thing, we can try this one a few people have mentioned as the musical or something, The Sound of Music."

"That is a classic, won awards and stuff too." Darcy shifted only enough to reach for the remote and punch a few buttons to make the next selection. Then settled back into the kind of prolonged hug they had going.

They got perhaps a quarter or a third of the way into the movie before they started drifting off. Slowly shifting until they'd laid back on the couch, Darcy more or less lying on top of Steve, his arms wrapped fully around her. When they woke, the movie was over and it was nearly midnight. Sam was also standing over the couch chuckling softly.

"Did you guys have nice dreams?" Sam was still chuckling.

"How long were we asleep?" Steve glared a moment at Sam before looking at Darcy.

"I'm not sure, I guess we'll have to try that movie another time. I definitely need to get to bed though." Darcy pushed herself up and off Steve, and the couch, while Steve ran a hand over his face, still mentally processing that he'd fallen asleep on the couch with her.

"I'm not sure how long you guys were asleep, I just wandered in here a minute ago." Sam was smiling though, it was all completely amusing to him.

"You want me to walk you to your apartment?" Steve still figured she lived in the tower, he'd never actually asked her where she lived, and she'd never said.

"No, that's okay. I'm good. We should probably clean up though." Darcy straightened her clothes and made a scrunched nose face at Sam when he kept grinning. She didn't know him that well, but he'd dropped into her and Steve's work outs a few times. He always seemed pretty cool. He grinned a little more when she made the face.

"I can take care of cleaning up then, if you want to get to bed. And I'm free on Wednesday for a workout, maybe we can try the movie again after too." Steve stood up, smiling softly at Darcy.

She smiled a little brighter, despite being a bit tired, "that sounds good. Thank you." Darcy reached to give him a hug, which Steve readily accepted. She then hurried off toward the elevators with a wave at them both.

Sam waved back as Steve was already grabbing up some of the snack bowls. Once the elevator doors closed, Sam broke into a grin. "Dude, what's up with that? You two getting a little closer?"

Steve's posture stiffened, "no, we're friends. That's all."

"You sure about that? Cause that could probably be changed. I think she likes you. You clearly like her." Sam grabbed up one of the bowls, completely aware of Steve's posture change. He'd poked casually at Steve a few times over the past few months about Darcy, but Steve seemed intent on brushing it all off as some completely casual workout buddy thing. Sam had already known it wasn't just that, at least that wasn't how Steve really felt about it. But he hadn't been sure if Darcy was just playful or really into Steve, cause the few times Sam had met her, she'd been kind of funny and bouncy with him. Some people it was just their personalities. But this seemed a clear indication, especially seeing how Darcy had looked at Steve, that it wasn't just a friend feeling.

"Yes, now let it go." Steve shook his head, putting the bowls in the dishwasher.

"Steve, you can let yourself live a little. Why not ask the girl on a date. See what happens. It might make you happy." From the start, Sam had seen the kind of familiar weight in Steve's eyes. Of a man not fully connected to the world he was living in. Probably made worse by the fact he was displaced in time, and not just a man who had lived in war long enough, a state of non war was strange.

"I've got too many things on my plate, Sam. There's no time for a relationship. It wouldn't be fair." Steve had been brushing off Natasha's attempts to find him dates for a while. He really just didn't have the time to devote, it didn't seem fair to the other person. And when that person was someone as lively and bright as Darcy, Steve couldn't see letting his chaotic, heavy life drag her down.

"I still think you should think about it." Sam pat Steve on the shoulder, but let it go, for now. He tried not to push Steve too hard, that wasn't what people like them needed. But he hoped with continued nudging, Steve wouldn't let life's opportunities pass him by completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next part will come as a new story. As some things will start to shift a little. Hope everyone is enjoying. :) Thanks for reading!


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